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| Art by: Markus Tyree |
I am also one of the many people who watched the videos of police officers murdering unarmed Black and brown men and women. Some of the videos I watched over a dozen times. I watched seeking understanding and hoping for some sort of guidance that would prevent me and my brother from being killed by the police. I never gained the understanding or guidance sought. Not an ounce.
What I did see was:
Trayvon Martin (killed by a "night watchmen") trying to get home from the store. Followed. Scuffled for his life. Shot.
Micheal Brown on his knees with his hands up in the air. Shot.
Philando Castile reaching for his license. Shot. His girlfriend and her child in the car.
Alton Sterling linebacker ransacked. Fell to ground. Police on top of him. Lying on his back. Shot.
Ahmaud Arbery out for a run. Followed. Guns drawn. Scuffled for his life. Shot.
Walter Scott running in fear away from a drawn gun. Shot.
Tamir Rice playing with a petal gun alone in the park. Sitting alone in park. Police arrive. Shot.
Jermey McDole sitting in his wheel chair. Shot.
Freddie Gray handcuffed. Dragged. Thrown into a police van. No seatbelt. Coma. Died.
Eric Garner communicating, "I CAN'T BREATHE," while officers kept him in a chokehold. Stopped breathing. Died.
George Floyd communicating, "I CAN'T BREATHE," while officers kept him pinned to the ground. One officer had his knee on his neck for over 8 minutes. Stopped breathing. Died.
These videos haunt me everyday.
As a Black woman, I can't help but also be haunted by the murders of fellow Black women just like me. Aiyana Stanley-Jones, Tanisha Anderson, Atatiana Jefferson, Charleena Lyles, Breonna Taylor and so many others whose names are buried with their bodies. Black women rally around our Black men without hesitancy but our names seem to often be an after thought, if thought of at all.
I, along with my community, are traumatized and tired. So the current state of unrest is not a surprise. Protests, boycotts, riots, marches, looting, speeches, letters, and GoFund Me pages happened after all of the deaths that made it to mainstream media. "But this time feels different," I've heard many say.
Here's what I believe is the reason why this time feels different:
2020 arrived with the hope of perfect vision that would lead us through the new year. I saw many people proclaiming this was going to be their year, nothing was going to stop them, and vision boarding the hell out of any self doubt. The answer to our prayers of newfound success and opportunities were met with COVID-19 and worldwide stay at home orders. This prompted disappointment and a condemning of 2020 and her motives. Quarantine, in my opinion, was meant to be a gift of a reset. For once the world had a moment to take a break from it's sick, sad, self that had worsened throughout each decade. There was now time to realign with our individual humanity. Get back in touch with our core values. Find new ways to reach our goals.
But even in quarantine white privilege and supremacy continued to rear its ugly head. The Black community was not afforded the same luxury to solely rest, love up on our families, and fully take advantage of this reset quarantine offered like the white community. We watched with anxiety the coronavirus death toll numbers rise disproportionately in our community. We were met with live footage on social media from Ohio federal prison inmate, Aaron Campbell, who begged for help saying, "they literally leaving us in here to die," and zoomed in on his bunkmate wheezing for air allegedly suffering from coronavirus. We then became virtual witnesses to the murder of Ahmaud Arbery as he was gunned down in broad daylight. Mind you, this murder happened months before it reached mass media. We had to stomach hearing that essential worker, Breonna Taylor, was murdered by police while asleep in her home. Police were executing a search warrant on the wrong house. We watched Amy Cooper call the police on Christian Cooper after he asked her to leash her dog. It didn't stop there, we again became virtual witnesses to the murder of George Floyd who cried for his mother while officers had him pinned to the ground. One of the officers had his knee on George's neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds as he pleaded for his life.
All of these deplorable human acts were coupled with many in the Black community losing their jobs due to quarantine, Black owned businesses struggling to stay open, and Black parents trying to homeschool their children in and inequitable education system. The Black community was exhausted yet tolerating when we entered quarantine. We are exhausted and infuriated now. The Black community can no longer bear the weight of a racist world on our shoulders.
This time it is different. The world was at a stand still and the world is forced to see us. 2020 - perfect vision. This is a world wide exhaustion and fury has incited a revolution in cities across the US and overseas in Paris and the UK.
Time is up for murdering us, oppressing us, discriminating against us, denying us our basic human rights, appropriating us, belittling us, mocking us, victimizing us, demeaning us, falsely accusing us, chastising us, blocking us, punishing us, treating us as lesser than, benefiting from us, lynching us, emulating us, and demonizing us.
BLACK LIVES MATTER.
No more addendum's. No more caveats. No more accommodations. No more explanations.
Black men's lives matter.
Black women's lives matter.
Black boy's lives matter.
Black girl's lives matter.
Black LGBTQIA+ lives matter.
Black disabled lives matter.
Black mentally ill lives matter.
Black poor lives matter.
Black middle class lives matter.
Black rich lives matter.
Black incarcerated lives matter.
Black at home lives matter.
Black outside lives matter.
Black liberals' lives matter.
Black conservatives' lives matter.
Black creatives' lives matter.
Black scholars' lives matter.
Black entrepreneurs' lives matter.
Black seen lives matter.
Black unseen lives matter.
EVERY BLACK LIFE MATTERS ACROSS THE WORLD.
White privilege will no longer get to dictate the quality or expiration date of Black lives.
White people,
your silence will be exposed. We are done tolerating white supremacy's infliction of genocide at the expense of Black bodies.
2020 gifted us with the time and vision so, "we got time today!"
#WeAreDone Dying
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